Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson

901 reviews

alice_c16's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Cursing, Medical content, Kidnapping, Car accident, Death of parent

kad18's review against another edition

4.75

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Blood, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail

natashaleighton_'s review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Murder

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Kidnapping

Minor: Cancer, Child death, Drug use

yourfavouritebookworm's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Blood

nevaeh_rose1205's review against another edition

3.75

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Pip swore she was done with investigating. But when someone she loves goes missing and the police dismiss it, she dives back into the darkness — this time, reluctantly and with consequences. This book is more raw than the first. It’s about trauma, trust, and how seeking justice can also destroy you.

The ending is emotionally brutal but powerful. Pip isn’t just clever here — she’s unraveling, and it’s heartbreaking to watch.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Murder

Minor: Gun violence, Mental illness, Self harm, Blood, Police brutality, Toxic friendship, Alcohol

Yes: Good Girl, Bad Blood continues the emotional fallout of Book 1. There is a suicide and several traumatic revelations that affect Pip’s mental health deeply. The story is darker and heavier than the first, with themes of guilt, obsession, and moral ambiguity taking center stage. While not graphically explicit, it’s intense and should be read with care.

anni081's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Stalking

Minor: Rape, Car accident

geggleston01's review against another edition

4.0

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault, Kidnapping

Minor: Cancer, Child death, Drug use

den1elle's review against another edition

4.75

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Blood

Moderate: Cursing, Rape, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Self harm, Stalking

astatuutikki's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous dark reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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A strong sequel, more so than I'd expected! There was some similarities to the first part, but it was just on the good side of making things feel familiar rather than repetitive. There were, again, some red herrings that made very little sense since they were never actually explored further, but less so than in the first part. 

I appreciated the planning ahead that Jackson had done for this plot, and I felt for Pip's struggling with right and wrong and the unfairness of the justice system. Interestingly the heavy themes walked hand in hand with very chaste relationship-building (

an I love you and what felt like a first kiss, what?

), which kind of threw me off. Sure, YA stuff can absolutely be heavy, but surely it's okay to mention the fact that an 18-year-old might have a sex life with her - gasp - boyfriend?! It just felt very off, tone-wise. (Twilight-vibes anyone?)

I did tear up a little at the end and hope that Pip can finally have some peace in her life. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Blood

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Infidelity

theetherealelf's review against another edition

4.25

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Has more epistolary elements than the previous book, and I do like those elements. It felt a bit like I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts (Rotten Mango) with the podcast transcript updates on Max Hasting's trial. The maps are similar to the previous book, but there were additional photos and text screenshots which was fun.
I liked it a bit less than the previous book, but it was still good. The reveal of

Charlie Green at the end as the suspect was a bit unexpected, I didn't really think it was him and I wasn't expecting the catfisher to be revealed at that moment so it felt a bit rushed but it's also possible I just didn't put stuff together. I wasn't really expecting Jamie to be alive at the end, or for Stanley to die instead.

I like that this book had a different mystery, but it still somewhat connected back to the events of the previous book. I'm really looking forward to reading the next in the series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Cancer, Child death, Drug use, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury

catfishing.

Also, near the end of the book, it describes Pip going through a trauma response/shock, maybe ptsd because she describes seeing a gun and the incident involving the gun